ess than an hour reached the course. I
wish you saw the old gentleman's face when he awoke from a sound nap,
and saw the grand stand, with its thousand faces, all in a row, and the
cords, the betting-ring, and the whole circumstance of a race-ground. By
good luck, too, the sharp jerk of our pull-up smashed a spring, and so
we had nothing for it but to leave the chaise and wait till it could be
repaired. While my servant was away in search of some kind of a drag or
other, to go about the field,--there was no walking, what with the crowd
and the press of horses, not to speak of the mud that rose over the
ankles,--we pushed on,--that is, I did, with a stout grip of Kennyfeck's
arm, lest he should escape,--we pushed on, into the ring. Here there was
rare fun going forward, every fellow screaming out his bets, and booking
them as fast as he could. At first, of course, the whole was all ancient
Greek to me. I neither knew what they meant by the 'favorite,' or
'the odds,' or 'the field;' but one somehow always can pick up a thing
quickly, if it be but 'game,' and so, by watching here, and listening
there, I managed to get a kind of inkling of the whole affair, and by
dint of some pushing and elbowing, I reached the very centre of the
ring, where the great dons of the course were betting together.

"'Taurus even against the field,' cried one.

"'Taurus against the field,' shouted another.

"And this same cry was heard on every side.

"'Give it in fifties,--hundreds if you like better,' said a young fellow
mounted on a smart-looking pony, to his friend, who appeared to reflect
on the offer. 'Come, hurry on, man. Let's have a bet, just to give one
an interest in the race.' The other shook his head, and the first went
on, 'What a slow set, to be sure! Is no one willing to back the field,
even? Come, then, here 's a hundred pound to any man who 'll take the
field against Taurus, for two thousand.'

"'Let me have your cob,' said I, 'and I 'll take the bet.'

"He turned round in his saddle, and stared at me as if I were something
more or less than human, while a very general roar of laughing ran
around the entire circle.

"'Come away, come away at once,' whispered Kennyfeck, trembling with
fright.

"'Yes, you had better move off, my friend,' said a thickset,
rough-looking fellow, in a white coat.

"'What say you to five thousand, sir; does that suit your book?' cried
the young fellow to me, in a most insolent tone.

"'Oh,